This invention relates generally to bathroom accessories and in particular, to a device for storing and cleaning a toilet plunger.
Toilet plungers have long been used to unblock drains. Such toilet plungers are difficult to store because of the limited amount of space in most bathrooms; in addition, toilet plungers are unsightly and unsanitary. Yet the toilet plunger should be readily available when necessary to remove blockages in the drains.
Some prior art has attempted to respond to the storage and convenience-of-use problems, providing toilet plunger covers and/or combination toilet plunger covers and toilet plungers. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,114,006 to Wilk, and U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,335,374 and 5,305,880 to Wilk et al., the toilet plunger housing is part of the toilet plunger. The Wilk ('006) combination toilet plunger and housing device has a housing with a slotted base which rests directly on the floor, wherein the plunger cup rests upon the slots when the plunger is in storage, and the same slots are used for grasping of the housing when the plunger is extended for use. Other embodiments of Wilk ('006) disclose the plunger cup resting on a removable base plate when the plunger is in a storage position.
Wilk et al. ('880) discloses a combination toilet plunger and housing device where the housing has an open end resting on the floor and the toilet plunger in the stored position has its plunger cup directed to the floor.
Wilk et al. ('374) discloses a combination toilet plunger and housing device having an open ended tubular housing member which covers the plunger cup allowing the plunger cup to rest directly on the floor. The handle of the device permits telescoping in the stored position.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,456,356 to Kurzawa discloses a combination toilet plunger cover and toilet tissue roll having a detachable base plate. The top surface of the base plate has upwardly extending ribs on which the plunger cup rests to prevent drainage of a wet plunger onto a floor. The Kurzawa device generally conforms to the shape of a toilet plunger cup and handle, having an elongate handle portion covering the entire toilet plunger handle.
Thus, notwithstanding the many known practical design problems for bathroom accessory storage devices for toilet plungers, the art has not adequately responded to date with the introduction of a device for storing and cleaning a toilet plunger which permits the user to easily insert a toilet plunger into an open device, without the user touching the plunger cup or the exterior or the interior of the device to close the device, and at the same time, to have the insertion action close the device; which also permits the user to remove the toilet plunger from within a closed device, without the user manipulating the device externally to open the device and without the user touching the plunger cup or the interior of the device to open the device, and have the removal action open the device; which permits the toilet plunger to drain inside the device without draining on the bathroom floor and to contain the drainage; which resists tipping of the device in the storage position, as well as when the toilet plunger is removed from the device; and which permits easy cleaning and sanitizing of the toilet plunger when it is inserted in the device.